Has your doctor suggested dosing for Calcium and Vitamin D during ADT?

Posted by jime51 @jime51, Sep 4 11:29pm

My oncologist has suggested that taking Calcium and Vitamin D during treatment is helpful, but not type or amount. I'm currently taking 1200 mg Calcium Citrate and 50 mcg Vitamin D daily. Is this adequate?

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Profile picture for ucla2025 @ucla2025

If you don’t mind my asking how much of each does he take? My husband just started his ADT.

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My calcium was low so I take 500 mg of calcium citrate three times a day. That has got me close to the midpoint of normal. Everybody is different so you should have his calcium checked every once in a while to see where he’s at.

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Profile picture for billfarm @billfarm

Medical oncologist suggested multivitamin in passing at start of adt. After 23 months adt I have)-1.7 osteopenia. Something not mentioned I also had zero b12. After some time now with supplementation it is normal. I think no b12 was a factor in my fatigue

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Your MO should have emphasized that you need to take calcium to keep your bone strength up. Vitamin D is also recommended. My oncologist made sure to tell me to take those.

Another thing a bone doctor said at a recent conference is that everybody on ADT should be on bone strengtheners. I was on Fosamax for six years and then Zometa for the last two years. My bones have stayed strong as a result.

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I pushed my oncologist, and so have my first-ever bone density test in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for all the nudges from the group!

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Profile picture for Dean Gibson @dkgibson

1. Some of the studies are about whole milk increasing the risk of prostate cancer are over a lifetime of consumption. Other studies don't show this association. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8255404/
2. I'm in my eighties, & I already have the cancer or what is left of it.
3. I increased milk consumption after the prostate was removed.
4. I'm not drinking whole milk.
5. These are not controlled studies, meaning that there is no way to know what other foods are being taken or avoided with milk lovers. Maybe it's the potential of increased risk of obesity with the fat in milk. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1550782/
6. Now that I'm off ADT, my PSA is decreasing. No one knows why. I suspect it is because I have (intentionally) lost 18 lbs in the last four months, but who knows. My BMI is now in the normal range. https://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/weight-loss-key-in-fighting-prostate-cancer.html
7. Some of the same studies show that increased consumption of milk decreases the risk of colon cancer, which I don't have. You can't win, but at least I am at decreased risk of bone fractures.
8. My two oncologists have said nothing about my increased consumption of milk, but I will see one of them in a week, & I will ask.

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Congratulations on the great PSA news! A former brother-in-law recommended a book, "How Not to Die" (Greger), which mentions IGF-1 in milk as well as Choline in eggs and issues with chicken and beef. The author is pressing for vegan diets, and my sister-in-law has been using it to continue surviving stage 4 cancer after 17 years. It's not for everyone, though, and I've been trying it for awhile but have gained weight, so I'm going back on a low-fat, low-calorie Weight Watchers plan to get back under the pre-diabetic category. Each of us has to chart his own course. A friend pokes me by saying that humans are the only animals that give their offspring milk beyond childhood. Best wishes!

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Profile picture for jimgaudette @jimgaudette

My oncologist prescribed 1200 mg calcium and 125 mcg D3 daily and 70 mg Alendronate Sodium once a week. You lose both bone and muscle when your testosterone goes down (the point of ADT) and your red blood cell count also drops. EXERCISE!!!!

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Exercise is a MUST! After going thru radiation and receiving my second dose of Lupron I was wiped out. When I got home from my second Lupron injection I went swimming in a local lagoon. I swim half a mile every summer but lay off in the winter due to water being too cold. This was my first swim of the season so I only swam about 150 yards. I couldn't believe how much energy I had when I got out of the water. I'm 86 tears old and swim twice a week and lift weights twice a week.

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Profile picture for jime51 @jime51

Congratulations on the great PSA news! A former brother-in-law recommended a book, "How Not to Die" (Greger), which mentions IGF-1 in milk as well as Choline in eggs and issues with chicken and beef. The author is pressing for vegan diets, and my sister-in-law has been using it to continue surviving stage 4 cancer after 17 years. It's not for everyone, though, and I've been trying it for awhile but have gained weight, so I'm going back on a low-fat, low-calorie Weight Watchers plan to get back under the pre-diabetic category. Each of us has to chart his own course. A friend pokes me by saying that humans are the only animals that give their offspring milk beyond childhood. Best wishes!

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Yes, I like that book also.

It is interesting that you gained weight, both me and my husband are actually loosing it since we eliminated milk products, eggs and eat only occasionally some fish. Most of my vegan friends are very thin (maybe too thin). We eat mostly salads and roasted vegetables and some legumes, and lots of fruits. Very limited bread and very limited sugar.

But, as you said, everybody is different and some things just do not work for some people 🤷‍♀️. Going "vegan" might be too much for many, but eliminating at least some of "bad actors" can be beneficial.
https://www.aicr.org/cancer-prevention/food-facts/vegan-diet/

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Profile picture for retiredboomer71 @retiredboomer71

The question is, how much (if any) supplemental Vitamin D is needed?

I guessed a good starting point was 1000 IU of vitamin D3 every other day. And a multivitamin in between D days.

Luckily I made a good guess...

After a few months of supplemental vitamin D, my blood test was 42 (20-50 is normal).

And I continued the supplemental vitamin D for the year I was on ADT (Orgovyx).

Unfortunately, vitamin D is not routinely included in my blood tests. So I had to specially request it.

Caution: Do not mega-dose vitamin D or you risk toxic side effects.

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My radiation oncologist prescribed Orgovyx + Vitamin D for me. Orgovyx I got for free under the government drug plan for seniors (over 65). However, the cancer center's pharmacist said I could get the Vitamin D (for a fee) in any pharmacy outside the hospital, just be sure it's not more than 1,000 IU each tablet, taken once a day. I found that dosage for Vitamin D3 calcium carbonate, but could not find any calcium citrate.

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Profile picture for jeff Marchi @jeffmarc

My calcium was low so I take 500 mg of calcium citrate three times a day. That has got me close to the midpoint of normal. Everybody is different so you should have his calcium checked every once in a while to see where he’s at.

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I also take calcium 500 mg 3x a day. It wasn't prescribed by my radiation oncologist who only prescribed Orgovyx + Vitamin D for me. When I told my RO that members of my PC support group are taking calcium in addition to Vitamin D, I was greenlit to take calcium. That time, I didn't know there's calcium carbonate and calcium citrate. In any case, I found only calcium carbonate in the pharmacy shelves, so that's what I take.

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Profile picture for beaquilter @beaquilter

2000iu of vitamin D and 1300mg Calcium daily

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May I add that in my case, I take 1500 mg of calcium carbonate (500 mg at a time, 3x a day, with food). I read in this forum that calcium citrate is better, can be taken with or without food, but I didn't find it nor knew about it over 5 months ago.

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Profile picture for vircet @vircet

May I add that in my case, I take 1500 mg of calcium carbonate (500 mg at a time, 3x a day, with food). I read in this forum that calcium citrate is better, can be taken with or without food, but I didn't find it nor knew about it over 5 months ago.

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Calcium citrate could be taken with or without food. It also has fewer conflicts with other drugs.

I have a pharmacist call me every six months to discuss the pills I’m taking. The first time she called, she told me stop taking Calcium carbonate and start taking calcium citrate.

Costco sells it and it comes with D3 and magnesium two things worth having.

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